The CSS Conversation: Looking Ahead

When: Tuesday, August 19, 2014 from 1-3pm EDT

During this webcast, held August 19, 2014, Federal Highway Administration staff, transportation stakeholders, and Context Sensitive Solutions experts reflected on what has been learned from the series of CSS National Dialog 2 workshops, and explored promising future opportunities based on trends in CSS practice and the direction of other related initiatives.

This webcast included:

an overview of innovative ideas that have emerged from the CSS National Dialog 2 workshops and webcasts

a panel discussion that will address transportation trends and examine how CSS can adapt to these trends and be applied to meet changes in transportation needs

Webcast Materials

Professional Development Hours (PDHs) and CM Credits

Professional engineers may earn PDHs, nationally recognized units of record, by attending continuing education courses and conference concurrent sessions. Requirements vary from state to state and each state licensing board has the final authority to approve methods of earning credits. Individuals should check with their state licensing boards for specific continuing education requirements that affect professional engineering licensure renewal.

This webcast was registered with the American Planning Association (APA) to be a provider of AICP Certification Maintenance (CM) credits and has been approved for 2 Credits. Registered participants should check the APA Calendar for event #e.28065 to see if they can earn CM credits.

Photo of the intersection in rural Florida by Daniel Burden; Blue Ridge Parkway by National Park Service.

Beth Osborne joined Transportation for America as the senior policy advisor and to direct a newly created mission-driven consulting service. Osborne came to Transportation for America from the U.S. Department of Transportation where she served as the acting assistant secretary for transportation policy and the deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy since 2009. At USDOT, she managed the TIGER Discretionary Grant program, the secretary’s livability initiative, and the development of the administration’s surface transportation authorization proposal. Before joining USDOT, Osborne worked for Senator Tom Carper (Delaware) as the legislative assistant for transportation, trade and labor policy; as the policy director for Smart Growth America; and as legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors’ Association. She began her career in Washington, DC, in the House of Representatives working as a legislative assistant for Representative Ron Klink (Pennsylvannia-04) and as legislative director for Representative Brian Baird (Washington-03).

In 2012 Neil Pedersen joined the Transportation Research Board (TRB) staff as deputy director of the Second Strategic Highway Research Program, SHRP 2, responsible for implementation and communication. In that role he is leading TRB’s efforts to ensure that the products of the $232 million SHRP 2 research program will be used by state DOTs, MPOs, local governments, resource agencies and other implementation agencies. Pedersen spent most of his career at the Maryland State Highway Administration, where he served the last eight and a half years as administrator and Governor’s Highway Safety representative. Prior to that, he was both deputy administrator and director of the Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering.

Over his career Pedersen has been involved in leadership roles in both TRB and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). He served as chair of TRB’s Statewide Multimodal Transportation Committee from 1996 to 2002, chair of the Planning and Environment Group from 2003 to 2005, chair of the Technical Activities Council from 2005 to 2008, a member of the Executive Committee from 2008 to 2012, and chair of the Executive Committee from 2011 to 2012. He was also chair of the SHRP 2 Technical Advisory Committee for its Capacity focus area from 2005 until joining TRB staff in 2012. At AASHTO he was vice chair of the Standing Committee on Highways from 2007 to 2011 and at various times a member of the Standing Committees on Planning, Environment and Research.

Harriet Tregoning is the director of HUD’s Office of Economic Resilience, where her office will help cities, counties and towns across the country build a strong foundation for a diverse and prosperous economy based on enhancing community quality of place, economic opportunity, fiscal stability, transportation choice, and affordability. She was recently the director of the District of Columbia Office of Planning, where she worked to make DC a walkable, bikeable, eminently livable, globally competitive and sustainable city. Prior to this she was the director of the Governors’ Institute on Community Design and co-founder, with former Maryland Governor Glendening, and executive director of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute. She served Governor Glendening as both secretary of planning and then as the nation’s first state-level cabinet secretary for Smart Growth.

Phil Caruso joined the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) in March 2001. In his current role he serves as the deputy executive director for technical programs. Prior to that he served as the traffic mitigation liaison and deputy director for traffic management of the Central Artery Tunnel Project. In this capacity he worked directly with public and private sector agencies and special interest groups in addressing the daily management of traffic and pedestrians within the downtown Boston and surrounding areas. Caruso has extensive experience in the management of urban street infrastructure as a senior transportation planner for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the director of transportation policy and planning for the Boston Transportation Department, a vice president of a smaller civil/transportation design firm and development director of a major international civil/transportation design and construction firm.

Caruso has a bachelor of science in civil engineering and a master of science in transportation from Northeastern University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Massachusetts.

Shari Schaftlein is the director of the Office of Human Environment (HEPH) which includes the following four teams: Livability, Research & Financial Services, National Systems & Economic Development, and the Research Implementation. HEPH has overall oversight of the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) capacity program. Functions of the Livability Team include agency lead on: bike and pedestrian activities, environmental justice coordination, and Context Sensitive Solutions. Prior to this position she served for eight years as the FHWA Team Lead for Program/Policy Development in FHWA’s Project Development and Environmental Review Office. Schaftlein is a long time member of the Transportation Research Board ADC10 Environmental Analysis Committee.

For 11 years prior, Schaftlein was with Washington State Department of Transportation’s Environmental Office, where she held the positions of water quality program manager, streamlining initiatives manager, and deputy director. She has also held environmental management positions with the West Michigan Environmental Action Council and the Quileute Tribe in La Push, WA. She obtained a BS and MS in Environmental Science at Indiana University.